As most of you know, Mourinho will be leaving Real Madrid at the end of the season. It’s official. To be honest, I’m not surprised. The last season according to Mou, was a failure and the worst of his career. Don’t worry Papa Mou, it was harder for us to watch, believe me.

Today, president Florentino Perez issued this statement:

“After three years we both agreed this was the correct moment to finish. With Mourinho, we made a big leap competitively and sporting-wise. Today Madrid is where it ought to be. We had not reached that level prior to his arrival, so the balance of his stay here was positive.”

I can remember when he first  came to Madrid, I was thrilled beyond belief. Finally we’ll win some titles! I thought. When it was good it was brilliant and when it was bad it was heartbreaking. That’s the story of the last three years, full of joy and sorrow.

But instead of focusing on the fiery dynamic between Mourinho and players this past season or the antics he’s shown against opponents on/off the pitch or during press conferences; how about we focus on all the good things he as a manager has brought the club?

With Mou as our manager, we’ve been dealt many cards. We’ve celebrated on the streets in Madrid, we’ve shed tears and we’ve embraced each other in times of defeat.

These past three years were memorable times for Madrid. Between the years of 2003-2010, Madrid only managed to win three trophies yet in a three-year span with Mourinho, they’ve managed the same results.

We watched Real Madrid beat Barcelona numerous times which brought this club and the supporters closer together.

As Madridistas, we are born to accept everyone that has both entered and exited this club, whether it be a player or a manager. Today is no different. The show must go on!

Jose Mourinho, the special one, you will be missed. Thank you for all that you’ve done for our club in your short time with us in Madrid. Without you, your passion and determination for the game, we’ve surpassed all expectations.

I personally, wish you the best in the future and even though you’re likely heading to Chelsea, I still dream that one day you’ll grace Emirates and lead Arsenal to some silverware (it never hurts to dream, guys!)

Obrigado.

Oh and before I forget! Happy 32nd Birthday to Madrid captain, Iker Casillas. Feliz cumplé San Iker!

The irony in today’s events are making me laugh.

Congratulations to Atlético Madrid for winning the 2013 Copa del Rey!! They beat Real Madrid 2-1 after a chaotic game and 30 minutes of extra time. This marks the first time Atleti have beaten Real Madrid since 1999. Atlético also ended Real Madrid’s 2 year home unbeaten streak (about 40+ games). At the end of this season Atleti will have claimed 3rd place in La Liga, qualified for next year’s Champions League, and won the Copa del Rey. Congratulations!

Atlético Madrid win 2013 Copa del Rey

On the flip side, this was a terrible ending to a terrible season for Real Madrid. They’ll finish 2nd in La Liga, 10 points behind champions Barcelona. They failed to come back against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League semifinals and were subsequently eliminated. I don’t even want to talk about all the drama surrounding the club this season. And they just lost what looked to be their best shot at winning some silverware this season.

For the past two hours (and most of this season, really) my reaction to Real Madrid’s game looked something like this: 

It’s hard to blame any one party for the way this season has gone and, if we’re being honest, finger-pointing usually goes badly. However, I’m going to ask you to give me a little bit of leeway because I’m hurting pretty badly after this loss.

The main target of my anger is the ref, Clos Gomez. He did make some good decisions every now and then, but he was inconsistent and clearly lost control of the game. By the final whistle, he had handed out 7 yellow cards to Real Madrid, six yellow cards to Atlético Madrid, and a red card each. I’m not even entirely sure why Gabi was sent off for Atleti. Half the time Gomez carded a player on their first offense; the other half of the time he waited until the 5th or 6th foul to show them a card.

He’s as appalled as I was.

The one sending off that really rubbed me wrong was José Mourinho. As far as I could see, it was the first time Mou had gotten up from his seat to yell at the pitch whereas Diego Simeone had spent the entire game standing! I guess Mou had to have said something terrible to warrant the sending off, but there’s no way Gomez would’ve heard it from where he was standing.

I kinda loathe myself for saying this but…Cristiano Ronaldo deserved his red card. The idiot kicked his opponent in the nose.

Above all else, pure luck was against Real Madrid. Los blancos should have easily won this game with as many shots as they had hit the post. That plus Thibaut Courtois’s phenomenal goalkeeping display stopped about 4 or 5 of Real Madrid’s closest chances. There was one period of a couple minutes where Real kept pinging the ball towards the net and it looked like a force field was over the line flinging the ball straight back. Unbelievable.

Now all we can do is wait. Wait to see if Mourinho goes or stays (my bet is he returns to England). Wait to see which players leave Real Madrid (unfortunately I think quite a few are on the way out). Wait to see if Atlético can hold onto Radamel Falcao (probably not). And wait for the start of next season which will hopefully wash away the remnants of a shoddy season for Real Madrid.

And now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to bury myself in comfort food.

Photos courtesy of www.ligabbva.com, www.guardian.co.uk, and tumblr.com. Check in with @AerysSoccer every day for the latest news on La Liga, the EPL, and MLS.

It’s the Champions League, baby!

Needless to say, this match up was anything but brilliant as Real Madrid hosted Manchester United, both clubs winning their league titles respectively.

Ronaldo’s first half goal. Just look at his hang time!

I guess to sum up the match for those who couldn’t watch, both Real and United both got a ‘head’ of each other, only to draw at 1-1. In the 20′ United’s Danny Welbeck scored a header that his defender, Sergio Ramos would be proud of. And as the jokes flooded twitter, it almost looked as if Danny boy scored using just his hair.

Ten minutes later, golden boy Ronaldo also headed the ball in which it seemed he stopped time as it appeared he was just hanging in the air.

Both clubs had great chances throughout the match as both Real’s Angel Di Maria and Fabio Coentrao almost put the club up two more goals. A wasted goal opportunity from Robin Van Pursie kept United equalized until the final whistle.

Defensively, Real was on their best performance, barely letting United’s dangerous forwards a way to sneak past the backline. With the absence of captain Iker Casillas, Diego Lopez really stepped up tending the goal while David de Gea, the young keeper for United, played a fantastic match and kept focused, which saved Real from scoring more goals.

Ronaldo talks to old manager Sir Alex Ferguson

It was a special moment for one player specifically, Cristiano Ronaldo, who faced his former club for the first time since leaving back in 2009. Ronnie began his lustrous career as a Red Devil where he further developed his style and perfected his fancy footwork. Before signing with Real, Ronaldo won 3 league titles, 1 FA Cup as well as other numerous trophies.

It was highly anticipated as to how Ronaldo would celebrate had he scored a goal. By far the best moment of the match was when he did, in fact, score that goal. He kept it classy, nodding and raising two fingers up in the air before being pummeled by his teammates.

The second leg of this intense match up will be on March 5th at Old Trafford. This match is one you want to mark on your calendar. Even as an Arsenal supporter, the reaction I’ll have seeing Ronaldo walk onto Old Trafford’s pitch, his old stomping grounds, will be a pivotal moment. And just imagine if he’d score yet another goal. Till then, we have to wait another 3 weeks.

I’ll just leave this here for you’re viewing pleasure. #TeamRonaldo

Stay tuned to Aerys Soccer for all your Champions League updates and more!

Photo courtesy of Real Madrid C.F.

Jose Mourinho is sticking to his new year resolution – win every match in 2013. So far so good, yet this is only the first match of the new year. Real Madrid faced Real Sociedad at home beating the club 4-3 in typical Madrid fashion.

Karim Benzema, who was sporting a new hairstyle (I like to call it the Benzhawk), opened the scoring in the second minute with a right-footed shot to the center of the box. Despite Mourinho’s odd choice of not starting captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas, who was recently voted best keeper in the world for the fifth consecutive time, backfired as Antonio Adan brought down Real player Carlos Vela in the box and was immediately sent off. Madrid were down to 10 men within the first 6 minutes.

With a penalty in the 9′, Xabi Prieto put Real on the board and the match at 1-1. That is until Sami Khedira got his foot on the ball and scored off a corner kick from Carvalho in the 35′. Real equalized the match again, though, before the half with another goal by Prieto five minutes later then topping off with  hattrick after a goal in the 76′.

Real ended the last 10 minutes of the match with 10 men as Dani Estrada brought down Ronaldo, receiving his second yellow and being sent off. Though it was two goals by Cristiano Ronaldo that inevitably sealed the victory for Madrid, only to be scored two minutes apart from one another. The Portuguese international evened up his career stats with Madrid as he scored 171 goals in 171 matches.

Just minutes before the final whistle, Gonzalo Higuain made his comeback from injury, almost scoring a goal.

Even though Madrid were missing Ramos, Pepe, Marcelo and Coentrão, los blancos drove the ball as fiercely as they good, taking every opportunity to counter-attack and rack up those very-needed goals.

Real Madrid end the week with a Copa del Rey match against Celta Vigo on the 9th before facing Osasuna in Liga on the 12th.

Stay tuned to Aerys Soccer for all your La Liga coverage!

Photo courtesy of Real Madrid C.F.

A slumped Iker Casillas, warming the bench.

There’s no doubt that this 2012-13 La Liga campaign has been rough for last season’s Champions, Real Madrid. In fact, it’s been atrocious. Los Blancos are 16 points (and counting) behind rivals, FC Barcelona as well as 13 points behind city rivals, Atletico Madrid at the end of 2012.

The match started of rocky when it was announced that Iker Casillas wouldn’t be tending the goal for Madrid making it the first time in 10 years he has been dropped due to a technical decision. The first half was the same as the second, Malaga wasn’t going to make things easy for Madrid. Deflecting  balls,counter-attacking and a strong defense allowed Malaga to control the match.

The scoreboard didn’t see a goal until the 49th minute from Isco, giving Adan no chance to deflect. Roque Santa Cruz netted two goals for Malaga. Karim Benzema scored a goal with 10 minutes to spare after an OG by Sergio Sanchez in the 66th minute.

Madrid was unable to find an equalizer and fell to their fourth defeat of the season, doubling their losses from last season. With the beginning of this campaign becoming more ad more intolerable, supporters are looking for an excuse. The harsh truth is there is no excuse. With constant injuries, morale in the Madrid club is falling.

But at least we still have Champions League.

Scores from Around the League

Real Betis 1-2 Mallorca

Real Valladolid 1-3 FC Barcelona

Osasuna 1-2 Granada

Athletic Bilbao – Real Zaragoza (Starts at 4pm ET)

Photo courtesy of Real Madrid C.F.

It’s always hard as a football supporter and even more as a journalist to announce such tragedy in a sport that you grew up loving. Today was that day in which the MLS community was warned about the sudden death of an up and coming MLS star, Kirk Urso.

MLS

Sad news coming from the Columbus Crew as we learned that 22-year-old rookie midfielder Kirk Urso has passed away.  Urso was the 10th overall selection in January’s MLS Supplemental Draft and started the Crew’s first 5matches this season after an injury to starter Danny O’Rourke. Word hasn’t broken as to what caused his death but the whole MLS community is feeling grief in support of their fallen teammate. MLS commissioner Don Garber releases a statement in regards to Urso’s untimely death:

 ”We are deeply saddened by the death of Columbus Crew player Kirk Urso. Major League Soccer mourns his death and sends our condolences to his family. MLS will hold a moment of silence for Kirk at today’s two league matches.”

Those two league matches will be Portland-Dallas and Seattle-LA.

You can read our own Columbus Crew supporter and Aerys Soccer Editor, Trista Lutgring’s update on the unfortunate tragedy.

La Liga

Well looks like Nuri Sahin could be exiting the Santiago Bernabeu after Real Madrid manager, Jose Mourinho, gave his blessing for the Arsenal target to leave. Sahin joined the Spanish giants last summer after raising a Bundesliga title with Borussia Dortmund but hasn’t played many minutes with the Madridistas. Arsenal are looking to sign the midfielder on a season-long loan.

Serie A

Juventus officially signed Paul Pogba from Manchester United on a free-transfer. The nineteen-year-old signed a four-year contract with the club after serving 3 years with the Red Devils.

Men’s Olympic Soccer

It’s ‘farewell Olympics’ for Team GB as the Olympic hosts were knocked out of competition when losing 4-5 on penalties against South Korea due to Daniel Sturridge’s missed shot. At least the Brits have the other gold medals they won today to overshadow this upset.

Japan 3-0 Egypt

Mexico 4-2 Senegal

Brazil 3-2 Honduras

You’ve got to love Mondays! Today’s big news revolved around transfers, possible transfers, talking of transfers … it’s a transferpalooza! And with summer winding down very quickly, it’s safe to say we might see more.

But for today, we’ve got Tim Cahill, Frank Lampard, Kaka and more! It’s your Monday Daily Kick Around!

Transfers

The biggest news today has got to be the afternoon announcement of Australian international and Everton star Tim Cahill getting the clear to transfer to the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer. This is pretty huge, considering Tim is a world-class player and a legend on the pitch! This statement from New York is pretty clear; they want the MLS Cup and they’re pulling out all the stops!

Could Frank Lampard join Cahill in Major League Soccer? Eh, he could in the future. While on tour with Chelsea in the states, the English star was asked if he would ever consider MLS, to which Frank replied  he wouldn’t “rule anything out.” Hmmm.

Maybe Real Madrid and Brazil wonder Kaka will consider MLS. Twitter was a buzz this morning with claims Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho has basically asked Kaka to leave the Spanish giants. A google search for Mourinho and Kaka yields … well a lot of speculation. And what would the start of the La Liga season be without speculation about Kaka? Never the less, without the promise of a starting spot, could we see the Brazilian move in the closing transfer window?

Finally, Sir Alex Ferguson has never been shy about what players he wants for Manchester United. Recently he owned up to making a bid for Arsenal’s Robin van Persie. Today, he admitted the club is in talks with Sao Paulo midfielder Lucas Moura. This 19-year-old is in hot demand in Europe at the moment, so only time will tell where he goes!

Good morning everybody! The future of Pep Guardiola is still unsure while Mourinho signs a 4 year extension, also we cover everything international with friendlies beginning before the Euros start. All in this morning’s DKA!

La Liga

With his departure from FC Barcelona, Pep Guardiola is open to job offers from other leagues, more-so offers from Liverpool and Chelsea. Even though Pep stated that he would take a season off to rest, his comeback could be sooner than expected.

“For the next months I have to charge my batteries,” he said. “I will rest and I will wait. I will be ready, if one club wants me, if they seduce me, I will train again.”

With a newly signed four-year contract, Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho has said that the club is the perfect challenge for him and his managing career.  Staying until 2016, Mourinho is thinking long-term with Real Madrid:

“I’m delighted to stay on and plan the sporting future of Real Madrid’s first team, and we know we must obviously focus more on the short term and talk little about the distant future.”

Congratulations to FC Barcelona on winning the Copa del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao on Friday after a 3-nil victory!

English Premier League

I ask you one thing footy fans. What’s more important, club or country? Just ask Johan Djourou, who was asked by his Switzerland coach to step down from Arsenal FC. Ottmar Hitzfeld has urged Djourou, who has 14 starts in the 2011-2012 campaign, to consider his future with the Gunners if he wants to be a part of the Switzerland NT. Generally, players get called up to the national team by the amount of play time they receive at their clubs. Djourou is barely getting playtime and is by far, Switzerland’s best player. But unfortunately for Djourou, he signed a contract extension, good until 2015.

International Friendlies

With Euro 2012 kicking off in 12 days, a lot of national teams are beginning their international matches in preparation for Euros & the Olympics.

Yesterday Spain beat Serbia 2-0, the US beat Scotland 5-1 (read the recap here!) and England beat Norway 1-0. But for today’s friendlies, France are looking to beat Iceland while Mexico face off against Wales in a match that was postponed.

As June begins, you can follow Aerys Soccer for al your Euro 2012 coverage!

Major League Soccer

Only one match today in MLS with Sporting KC taking on the San Jose Earthquakes at 4:30 pm from the beautiful Livestrong Sporting Park. Stay tuned to a recap post match!

I don’t know if anyone else’s Tuesday has been crazy, but wow! It seems like there is a lot to talk about! From the Galaxy’s Josh Saunders, to Didier Drogba, to David Villa’s Euros future. If you missed it, don’t worry! We’ve got the headlines in your Tuesday Daily Kick Around!

English Premier League

Well, it’s not official. Chelsea’s powerhouse striker Didier Drogba has officially announced he’s saying farewell to the Blues. Drogba’s contract will expire in June and his feature is a little uncertain; rumors have him linked to clubs in China and even MLS. Have to hand it to him, he’s leaving the Blues after pulling off a miracle with the Champion’s League win.

Oh the woeful story of Owen Hargreaves. After being released to City last season when he was plagued with injuries at United, he is now in limbo as Manchester City have opted not to renew his contract. Hargreaves only appeared four time for City. This is harsh news for the 31-year-old. I was hoping he would bounce back from his injuries, but unfortunately, he just can’t seem to get it.

Speaking of releasing players, Arsenal also decided not to renew the contracts of seven of its players, including goalkeeper Manuel Almunia who has been with the Gunners for eight years.

La Liga

In another Messi v. Ronaldo battle, Messi has come out the victor as he just nudges past CR in Goal.com’s Player of the Season. Readers of the site chose Messi over Ronaldo by a margin of two percent.

The wait is finally over! After tons of rumors and speculation, Real Madrid’s Jose Mourinho put pen to paper today and signed a new contract with Real until 2016. Congrats to all the Madrid fans!

Major League Soccer

Good news for LA Galaxy fans – goalkeeper Josh Saunders, who had been checked into MLS’ substance abuse treatment program, is back at training with the team and says he feels happy with where he is as. Details were sketchy when Saunders went into the program, but the official statement now states Saunders was not admitted for any drug abuse.

Oh Toronto FC. Things have been quite dire for the MLS Canada-based team this season. With a record of nine losses, they’ve not only been labeled the worst team in MLS, but the worst team in the world.  And their striker Danny Koevermans agrees.

Euro 2012

In a big blow to the Spanish NT, it was announced today that David Villa would not be back to fitness for the Euro 2012 competition set to begin next month. Villa had broken his leg in December when Barcelona played Al Sadd in the Club World Cup and has been struggling to get back to playing fitness for the summer tournament.

Oh lord. I don’t know about you guys, but I have hated to leave my twitter feed for more than five seconds today! The news is pouring in from possible new Liverpool managers, Tevez running his mouth (surprise), trades in MLS and much more! But in case you missed anything, we’ve got you covered in today’s Daily Kick Around!

Major League Soccer

It was quite possibly the weirdest way to announce a trade, but Heath Pearce let the cat out of the bag today when he announced he had been traded from Chivas USA to New York Red Bulls. Needless to say, twitter almost exploded as the wait for the official word commenced. About an hour or so later, the club announced a deal had been reached with New York – Chivas would get forward Juan Agudelo in exchange for allocation money and Pearce. Pretty nice set up for everyone if you think about it…

English Premier League

Things are still hopping in EPL, even though the season is over. With the announcement yesterday of Kenny Dalglish getting sacked by Liverpool, the word came today that Wigan Athletic would allow LFC to talk to their manager, Roberto Martinez. It was rumored already the club would approach the Wigan manager, so of course this is going to add full to the fire.

Speaking of Liverpool, here is an interesting piece on what really matters to the Fenway Sports Group.

So, Survival Sunday was crazier than you think. And I’m not just talking about the incredible results that came out of the ten games broadcasted. Not only were American audiences bombarded by soccer on almost every one of Fox’s channels along with ESPN, it seems they were actually watching the games. The Washington Post reported “a total of 1,348,000 viewers tuned into the U.S. television coverage of the final day of the Premier League season, an increase of 72 percent over 2011.” That’s amazing!

You’re not going to be surprised by this – because frankly, Carlos Tevez cannot surprsie me anymore – but he’s at it again. After his “RIP Fergie” sign during the Manchester City EPL champions parade, word was the club and Tevez both apologized to Sir Alex Ferguson for the action. But Tevez fired back in an Argentina paper claiming he wasn’t apologizing for anything.  Oy vey, come on Tevez, just grow up already!

La Liga

So now that he’s won a title with Manchester City, Yaya Toure’s manager claims the player would like new challenges. Toure has said he’s happy to remain at City, but there have also been claims he wants to go back to Barcelona. If your head isn’t spinning yet, at Real Madrid to the list of rumored teams Toure could end up at. However, Toure is letting the media know that the Spanish giants and manager Jose Mourinho haven’t approached him yet about anything. But anything could happen he added. Hmmm.

English National Team

So, England has a new manager, but that doesn’t mean the dust has settled for the Three Lions. John Terry’s out, Rio Ferdinand is out … and is Michael Carrick retired or not from international play? FA says “Uh, sorta kinda not really,” and Roy Hodgson says if Carrick can prove himself better than the four starting midfielders chose, he won’t have to stay on the bench. Personally, I’m not sure what to think of the mess in England. It tends to get a bit more complex each tournament, doesn’t it?

U.S. Men’s National Team

So the first 16 members of the USMNT were announced on Tuesday and one of the guys left off was Timmy Chandler. The German-American apparently wanted “a break” from the U.S. Men’s national team, sending the fans and coaches a pretty big message. If that isn’t a “I don’t want to play for you” message, I don’t know what is.

Serie A

Remember when we shared the link about Diego Maradona owing the Italian government 32 million (pounds according to Yahoo! Sports UK) in back taxes when he use to pay in Serie A? Well, apparently Maradona is firing back at the government, counter suing them for 40 million (pounds) for “mortification and harm suffered to his image, dignity and quality of life.” I gotta say, that takes guts when you owe 32 million in taxes.